YouTube has restored at least two videos depicting an erroneous report delivered by San Francisco-based FOX affiliate KTVU-TV that had been the subject of scrutiny and comment in the recent weeks.
The videos depicted KTVU news anchor Tori Campbell misidentifying four pilots aboard Asiana Airlines Flight 214 as Captain Sum Ting Wong, Wi Tu Lo, Ho Lee Fuk and Bang Ding Ow during a July 12 broadcast. Campbell retracted the report later in the broadcast and the station issued multiple apologies for the error when the gaffe went viral later in the day.
Two videos depicting the error were posted to the account “Matthew Keys Live” for use on The Desk as part of the site’s coverage of the gaffe. Other news organizations, including the Huffington Post, Radar Online and the Los Angeles Times embedded the same videos to further their coverage of the story.
Both videos were removed by YouTube last Friday after KTVU filed copyright infringement notices against the account. On Monday, KTVU general manager Tom Raponi acknowledged the station was seeking the removal of the videos from several accounts because the videos were “insensitive and offensive.”
Similar videos showing the same erroneous report published to other YouTube accounts were also removed. In addition to the gaffe, KTVU ordered the removal of videos showing Campbell’s on-air retraction. That segment did not contain the erroneous names. Raponi offered no reason as to why KTVU ordered the removal of those videos.
The Desk immediately filed counter-notices with YouTube on the grounds that publishing the videos were covered under the U.S. copyright’s code provision for fair use (17 USC 107), namely that the videos — less than one minute in length each — were published for the purposes of comment, criticism and news reporting.
On Tuesday, YouTube restored both videos to the account “Matthew Keys Live.”
Both videos can still be removed if KTVU or parent company Cox Media Group decides to file a civil lawsuit alleging copyright infringement, and only then if a court finds in their favor.
The Desk has tried on several occasions to reach station management for comment. Those messages have gone unreturned.
